The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

SDFLA starts 2013 with Pakistani Taliban trial

Out of the frying pan; into the fire. That's what Judge Scola must be thinking after just finishing a very lengthy B-girls trial to end 2012, and now starting the Pakistani Taliban trial to begin 2013.

When the high-profile trial of two South Florida religious leaders accused of sending cash to help the Pakistani Taliban
begins Wednesday, their defense is expected to argue they were simply
offering charity to family and friends in their troubled homeland.
Izhar Khan, 26, was the young imam at a Margate mosque; his father, Hafiz Khan, 77, led a Miami mosque until they were arrested in May 2011 on federal charges they sent cash to the terrorist organization.
The men, both U.S. citizens born in Pakistan,
are charged with funneling $50,000 from South Florida to the Taliban
between 2008 and 2010. Prosecutors used more than 1,000 wiretapped phone
calls, bank records and a confidential informant to make their case.
The case hinges on whether
jurors believe the men conspired to help terrorists who target U.S. and
Pakistani interests. The Taliban has been linked to al-Qaida and had a role in the failed attempt to bomb New York's Times Square in May 2010 and other attacks, experts say.
Defense
attorneys say the men's motives were misinterpreted and the money was
for family members affected by violence in the Swat Valley in northwest
Pakistan. The money was also to help a school for boys and girls,
established long ago by the elder man in his hometown, the defense said.
Both men pleaded not guilty and have been locked up since their
arrests. The trial in federal court in Miami is expected to take several
weeks.
Jury selection is expected to take a few days. U.S.
District Judge Robert Scola Jr. said dozens of potential jurors will
fill out questionnaires before he asks about their attitudes toward
Islam, terrorism and other possible biases.
Though Hafiz Khan
looks frail and confused and comes to court in a wheelchair the judge
ruled he was mentally competent for trial and there was evidence he
exaggerated some memory problems. At prosecutors' request, jurors
shouldn't see the wheelchair, which federal marshals said is used only
for convenience to move him quickly from his cell to court.
Izhar
Khan was a popular, soft-spoken leader at Margate's moderate Masjid
Jamaat Al-Mumineen mosque off Sample Road, congregation members said.
The
young man reserved his fervor for basketball and cricket, supporters
said. They said he was known for preaching tolerance of other religions
and his in-depth religious knowledge. He lived in the U.S. since age 8,
records show.

The courtroom will be missing Federal Defender Michael Caruso, whose client was dismissed from the case months ago.

The Southern District of Florida blog was started by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.